At that time, the People's Republic had just been founded, and the national economic base was weak, with a general pattern of underdevelopment in all sectors.

当时，新中国刚刚成立，百业凋零，百废待兴，国民经济基础相当薄弱。

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Death by disaster is in many ways a symptom of economic underdevelopment: witness the very different consequences of the earthquakes in Haiti and Chile.

ECONOMIST: Disasters are about people and planning, not nature��s pomp